A Better Goodbye
by Dance FLY
Summary: I thought that the ending just needed something a little... more. Same events, and some of the same dialogue, just... more.


Yugi couldn't help it. He fell to his knees and started to sob.

"You won Yugi. A winner shouldn't be on his knees."

Yugi only sobbed harder. "I'm proud of you Yugi," Atem said.

At this Yugi finally raised his head and looked Atem, the Pharaoh, his best friend in the eye. "I was having so much fun during the duel that I forgot what winning meant. I'm going to lose you!" His small frame shook with tears.

Finally the Pharaoh pulled him into a tight hug. "You will never lose me Yugi. None of you will," he said looking around at the group. His friends. "I will always live on in the courage I taught you, just as you will live on with me in the afterlife with the kindness you taught me. In five millennia, I have never found a more powerful force than that of our friendship, and that is something not even the divide between the world of the living and the dead can break."

For a few minutes Yugi and Atem continued to just hold on to each other, knowing it was the last time they would see each other. Their brother. Their other half. Finally they pulled away and stood up, Yugi wiping his eyes and wearing a small smile because he knew the Pharaoh's words were true.

"Wait! You think you can just come in here, change all our lives, and walk back out again like nothing happened?!" the outraged shout came from behind them. Joey, Tea, and Tristen had run up the steps to join them, all of them with tears in their eyes.

"We know you can't stay," Tristen said trying not to choke up. "You deserve your rest after everything you've been through and to see your old family and friends again but…"

"But we're going to miss you so much!" Tea exclaimed making no effort to hide her tears.

Atem smiled sadly. "I will miss you too my friends. And I will never forget any of you. But you must remember that this is not the end of our friendship, and one day we will see each other again. This is not good-bye or the end." At this all the friends were able to nod and some of the weight on their shoulders lifted.

"Everyone put your hands in a circle!" Tea said suddenly. With some confusion, everyone obliged. Suddenly Tea pulled a black marker out of her pocket and they all smiled as she redrew the smiley face from so long ago, but this time with five hands.

"A symbol of our friendship," Tea said.

"And though the ink may wash away," Yugi continued.

"It will always be in our hearts," Atem finished.

They all looked at each other and nodded. Now the time was right. Now they could say goodbye.

The Pharoah turned from his four friends to face the door. "I am the son of King Aknamkanon," Atem bellowed. "I am Atem!"

The doors opened and a brilliant light flooded everyone's vision. Through the light Atem could see all his ancient friends and family waiting for him with smiles. He started to walk forward, but paused to look behind him once more.

Odeon. Marik. Ishizu. Mokuba. Kaiba. Gramps. Duke. Tristan. Tea. Joey. All the friends who weren't here to see him off like Rebecca, Serenity, and Mai. Finally his eyes fell on Yugi. His other half. They shared a smile and a nod with one another, and Atem knew they would both be ok. It was time for him to go. He lifted his hand in farewell, "Goodbye. And never forget that this is not the end. One day we will all meet again."

"Of course we will." Giving Atem a thumbs up, Yugi said, "It's your move!"

Atem grinned and continued walking into the light. His clothes fluttered and changed to that of a Pharoah's as he flashed them a smile and a thumbs up before disappearing and the doors closing.

What followed was an epic dash through the collapsing tomb until everyone was outside on the sand once more.

"So he's really gone," Tristen said looking up.

"No," Yugi said shaking his head and smiling. "Remember what we said. We will all live on inside each other through the power of our friendship. And besides, with the end of every adventure is the beginning of a new one."

 _My life isn't the story of a five thousand year old Pharaoh who saved the world,_ Yugi reminded himself. _I am Yugi Moto. A high school kid with lots of friends who loves games and Duel Monsters. And my story is just beginning._


End file.
